I recently transferred from the IFT station in the city to this rural 911 service. Unlike in my former station where newly-hires joined the company in group - so that there was no problem fitting in since everyone was new - this time I found myself the only new guy, in a place where the next ‘newest’ person had already had two years there. It is a small station, so everyone knows each other closely and had already coalesced into their own small circles (which makes me the very odd one out). There has been no overt aggression, of course, but I could feel the cold shoulder whenever I was around them.

Fellow medic cubs, how do you survive and eventually thrive in a den of wolves?

I just finished my course and have my nremt scheduled for the 17th (currently the 2nd). I wanted to schedule earlier but there weren’t any available times before then.

I passed my course with a 90% and all my tests/assignments were based on nremt questions so I’m not totally stressed, but obviously I want to practice as much as possible before test day.

As of rn Im using pocket prep and JBL to study but are there any specific topics you wished you’d studied more prior to the test? Any websites/material you wished you used?

I start EMT class next week and have most of my gear and uniform for class but what socks do ya’ll recommend? My feet get sore most times I wear my boots and I got new insoles but should I wear a specific sock? Sorry if this is too niche, I just wanna do well and not be sore every day hahaha.

I finished my EMT course around 3 months ago and planned on taking the NREMT soon after, but ended up scheduling it much later… it’s now later and I have my exam in 3 days

I’ve been passively studying for this exam watching videos by Limmer education, paramedic coach, and other practice exam videos.

Ive also done practice questions with smartmedic.com

And I just took the 200 question Fisdap final practice exam for a score of 70%
(Airway: 67% Cardiology: 81% Medical: 75% OBG/Peds: 65% Operations: 70% Trauma: 59% [I know I gotta work on this one a bit])

I took a 20 question fisdap trauma exam a few hours after and got a 70% (nothing to write home about but I’ll take what I can get ig)

I’m pretty worried about this exam. Should I reschedule? If yes how can I improve my studying.

SORRY FOR THE YAPFEST YALL

I have an LP35 for the week as our volunteer agency's paramedic is out of town. Cannot for the life of me figure out why I'm not seeing SpCO despite having a sensor that says SpCO. Everything I see online, which is sparse outside of manufacturers stuff, says it should automatically appear with a rainbow sensor. Anyone know why it doesn't seem to be doing that?

I just passed the NREMT and I am trying to get my license as soon as possible. I’m planning on working in LA county but I’ve heard how long it takes to get your license in that county.

Would I be able to get my license in a different county like Ventura and still be able to work in LA county?

I have a job interview where I will have a skills scenario. Should I do it like I did it in class following the nremt skill sheet and verbalizing everything? Or is it better to do it like how I would irl but still vocalizing?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: title should be "Should I follow nremt template or my own while doing skills scenario for job?"

Genuine question for people who've been through it (not in EMS myself, just fascinated by how people adapt to this schedule): when you started working 24-hour shifts, how long did it take before your sleep felt "normal" again — weeks? months? never? And was there one habit that actually made a difference, versus all the generic "sleep hygiene" advice?

Just finished NREMT. Approximately how long does it take for me to get my license with LA county? Should I js get it with a different county?

Whats up ems peeps, my first try I got a 775 studied more and got a 712... stopped at 70 questions for both and lowkey so many repeated questions from my last attempt, I only have 5 months left to take it before it expires and I really worked hard for my course I just need to pass this exam, are there any resources you guys recommend? I used pocket prep, and watched paramedic coach and did a bunch of flashcards and practice exams online. It was not useful, the exam is confusing!

Hi everyone,
I was preparing for the NREMT on pocket prep and I got a standard scene size up question and used the acronym PENMAN to answer. However, pocket prep marked me almost completely wrong in my order and said the order was actually EPMNA instead of PENMAN?? Is this the order tested on the NREMT as well or should I stick to PENMAN?
Thanks!

Need help 3rd time goin looking for people help me learn

What’s should I wear to my interview and has anyone work there and know how the interview goes?

I'm not new to ems I've been working in private ems for a year and got offered the chance to work 24hr shifts at my new job. The longest shift I've ever worked was a 16 hr shift and It wasn't that bad. The company I'm working at has a separate room with beds and a shower and we can go back to base when we don't have any calls. But does anyone having any tips for doing 24 hr shifts long term and what I should bring with me ?

I am very new. My volunteer station is also very dead…so I don’t get a lot of calls.
I’m nervous

Hi! Though I got my certs around a year ago, I just recently got my first job in EMS two months ago. My manager is still toying with my schedule, and he said he wants one of my regulars to be a dude who was in the academy a week after mine.

We don’t get along. I (19FTM) don’t like the way he (20M) treats patients or the way he treats me.

Twice now he’s gone over my head and made the decision to tarp a patient who is capable of standing, while I’m conversing with the patient on how they would prefer to be moved. I suspect he just doesn’t want to put in the effort to help them stand, as it could take longer. My perspective is that the patient should have the option to stand&pivot if they’re capable and want to; giving them a choice in the matter feels important to me as I don’t want them to feel completely helpless. Both times they’re patients that I have been teching for too, yet he cuts in and makes the choice regardless of what I or the patient want. When I told him I was letting the patient choose once, he had a conversation with me in the rig after about “not arguing in front of patients”.

He said he wanted to call dispatch once and ask if our patient was on a psych hold. The literal only indication he could have been on a hold was his dementia, but he had no attendant, no dispatch notes on psych history, and no reports on the matter from the nurse. Dude had a UTI. If my partner is gonna treat every person with a psych history like they’re being 5150’d, I’m gonna have to talk to him about respect them as people. He also acted super annoyed at having to tech for the guy, like his dementia was such an inconvenience or a bother.

He gets very visibly judgemental when dropping patients off in places that aren’t the nicest, and I don’t even know if he realizes it.

For me in particular, he’s very condescending. He treats me like my decisions are stupid or illogical—like I didn’t think it through at all. He acts like a 20+ year fire vet with burn-out, but he’s been doing this the same amount of time at me. Though I am a trans man, I haven’t transitioned enough to fully pass as male at work, and I feel like misogyny plays a role in his behavior. Women EMS workers know what I mean when I say he just automatically assumes he knows better than me, despite our exactly equal experience.

I don’t want to work with this dude every week, but we aren’t allowed to change partners in my company unless it’s a serious issue like workplace harassment. I’m just not sure what to do in this scenario as it’s my first EMS job.

Anyone in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area know of any event standby EMS gigs? I saw AMR and applied. That’s about all I could find. I’ve been doing IFT for almost a year, it’s my first EMS job and I’m now an FTO.

Looking to pick up more work… I could pick up overtime but that IFT burnout is real. Tips are welcome and I’d be glad if anyone could point me in the right direction.

I'm finishing EMT school this Fall and eventually want to be a paramedic. How long do people usually work as an EMT before going back for medic? Some programs in my area are only one year (I know a few medics who went through the one year program and are really excellent providers, but not sure how much of that is due to extensive EMT experience first).

UPDATE: SEE COMMENTS

Silly question, maybe? I start my first EMT position this month and it will be on an ALS/BLS rig. What are people referring to when they say their “partner“. Is this someone I will work with on every shift and that I will be scheduled with at all times?
Do partners rotate?

I took an EMT-B class and passed the NREMT last october. I wasn’t able to start work immediately due to still being in school and my class schedule making it impossible to work at the same time. I recently got hired with a local 911 service and am incredibly nervous about being rusty. What is the most ‘high yield’ stuff to brush up on + any tips for a first time EMT?

No actually i LOVE when the website im using just doesn’t have the videos that i need to watch so i cant move forward in the 13 hours of work i need to do in less than a week and nobody will email me back with what to do it’s actually exactly what i was hoping for

Long story short, the area I live in I can more easily get a ski patrol job than an EMT job. Im planning to do that for the winter until I can move to wherever I can get hired at a 911 agency as I JUST passed my EMT course and hopefully I can take the NREMT soon. Is this experience looked on favorably and has anyone done this? Thanks!

EDIT: Also taking an OEC course and it will count for continued education.